Cut-in and cut-out device for electric generators.



HIC. H. SMYTH.

CUT-IN AND CUT-OUT DEVICE FOR ELECTRIC GENERATORS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 18, I91].

1 ,288-,4=52. I Patented Dec. 17,.1918.

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HERBERT CHARLES HUMPHREY SMYTI-I, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

CUT-IN AND CUT-OUT DEVICE FOR ELECTRIC GENERATORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 17, 1918.

Original application filed October 26, 1915, Serial No. 58,079. Divided and this application filed .Tune 18,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT CHARLES HUMPHREY SMYTH, a subject of the King of England, residing at London, in the Kingdom of England, have invented new and useful Cut-In and Cut-Out Devices for Electric Generators Adapted for the Supply of Current to Accuniulators when the Terminal Voltage of the Generator is Greater than the Accumulator Voltage.

It is my object to provide a device of this kind which comprises magnet coils having a single winding and a keeper in connection with carbon contacts arranged together on a suitable base which also carries an adjusting contrivance for the keeper, the present application being a division of my copending application, Serial No. 58,07 9 filed October 26, 1915.

The embodiment of my invention is shown in the annexed drawings, in which:

Figure l is a front elevation of my embodied device; and Fig. 2 a plan of same.

The coils D form part of an electromagnet which has an armature F pivoted at G, said armature carrying a carbon contact block E at its free end. The block is normally held a small distance away from two stationary contact blocks E E by means of an adjustable spiral spring K. The block E is attached to the armature F in such a manner that it is free to swivel at J so that when it comes against the blocks E E it makes good electrical contact with both of them. The spring K is mounted on a spindle P and it can be suitably tensioned by turning the spindle P to which one end of the spring is attached, the other end of said spring passing through a hole in the base plate Q, and being secured to a lug M on the armature F. The spindle P is journaled in bearings on the base plate Q which may be hollow and which carries the coils D and arma ture F, said spindle being locked by tightening a stop-screw L. The outer or free end of the spindle P is squared so that the adjustment of the spring can be effected to a nicety to suit the strength of current passing through the coils D. The current enter- Serial No. 175,378.

ing by the terminal A passes through the coils D and when the armature F is attracted a circuit for the charging current is completed through the terminals B and C and the carbon blocks E, E and E As in practice it is found that the electromagnet D need only have 100 ampere turns to efliciently work it, its resistance can be extremely low and its size can be very small so as to permit of embodying it within the casing of a generator, if desired.

I claim:

1. A cut-in and cut-out device for electric generators for charging accumulators, comprising, in combination, an electromagnet energized by the charging current, a pivoted armature of the electromagnet, a spindle disconnected from the electric circuit, a spring coiled on the said spindle, one end of the spring being secured to the spindle and the other end to the said armature so that the tension of the spring can be adjusted by rotating the said spindle, fixed contact blocks in the circuit of the charging current, and a contact block carried by the said armature and adapted to engage with the said fixed contact blocks and complete the circuit of the charging current.

2. A cut-in and cut-out device for electric generators for charging accumulators, comprising, in combination, an electromagnet energized by the charging current, a pivoted armature of the electromagnet, a spindle disconnected from the electric circuit, a spring coiled on the said spindle, one end of the spring being secured to the spindle and the other end to the said armature so that the tension of the spring can be adjusted by rotating the said spindle, means for locking the spindle in the position in which the armature is released from the electromagnet substantially at zero value of the charging current, fixed contact blocks in the circuit of the charging current, and a contact block carried by the said armature and adapted to engage with the said fixed contact blocks and complete the circuit of the charging cur rent.

HERBERT CHARLES HUMPHREY SMYTH.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G, 

